Many companies package groups of items together for a variety of purposes. For example, e-commerce and mail-order companies package and ship consumer items (e.g., books, CDs, apparel, food, etc.) to fulfill orders from customers. Some companies allow customers to order from a wide variety of product categories such as books, compact discs, electronics, kitchen or housewares, apparel and accessories, toys and games, home and garden products, medical supplies, etc. Multiple different products can be packed in a single package. A common concern with such packages having heterogeneous contents involves ensuring that the packages are properly packed, processed, and completed prior to shipping the package to the customer.
A single package handling system can automatically process a large number of packages having different sizes, contents, packaging requirements, labeling requirements, shipping requirements, and shipping destinations. The packages must be processed and shipped accurately in accordance with the customer's order. Accurate package processing helps build and maintain customer retention, goodwill, inventory control, tracking, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency. The packages must also be shipped in accordance with the appropriate laws and regulations. As an example, packages having potentially hazardous contents or a potentially hazardous combination of contents cannot be shipped via air delivery in accordance with certain shipping regulations. The costs associated with incorrectly processed or shipped packages (e.g., handling customer support calls and item returns for packages shipped to customers) can be high, thereby decreasing the overall business profitability.
One technique used to maintain accuracy in package processing involves manual review of all packages prior to shipping. Such manual review, however, is typically inefficient, cost-prohibitive, and prone to human error. Another technique used in package processing includes automatically tracking packages with scanners and bar codes as the packages are packed, inspected, closed, weighed, wrapped, labeled, etc., prior to shipping. The automated processing systems are typically set up to identify any packages not properly processed and to remove those packages from the processing line. After those packages are “kicked out” from the processing line, the packages can be reprocessed into proper condition for shipping to the customer.
In some systems, a kickout label is applied to a kicked-out package to indicate that the package has been incorrectly or incompletely processed. The kickout labels, however, provide little or no information about how to properly reprocess the package. Accordingly, a line-worker typically must manually identify the problem and initiate the correct reprocessing steps for the package. Such manual reprocessing of kicked-out packages can be labor-intensive, expensive, and inefficient. Such reprocessing of the kicked-out packages typically does not address the root problem causing package kickout. Therefore, there is a need for an improved package handling process.